The Haunting Sound of the Shofar Rabbi Ari and Laura Silbermann are shlichim from OTS’s Straus-Amiel Emissary Training Institute, currently serving as Rabbi and Rabbanit of Mizrachi UK in Manchester, England The piercing sound of the shofar is our way of enthroning God, and is meant to inspire us to do teshuva (reflect on our actions, and literally, …
Preparing Jewish Rabbinical Leadership for the Modern World “Ohr Torah Stone’s rabbinic training is about so much more than learning the halakha,” enthused Aviel Javesky, a student in Ohr Torah Stone’s Joseph and Gwendolyn Straus Rabbinical Seminary. “I also learned philosophy, psychology, and gained the skills I will need to be an effective rabbi. The …
Ensuring Jewish Community Growth, Even During a Pandemic When idealistic, committed young adults embark on the two-year Straus-Amiel Emissary Training Program for rabbinical couples, they cannot possibly imagine all of the challenges they will face building Jewish community throughout the Diaspora; least of all, those that will arise due to a worldwide pandemic. During the …
Tu B’shvat program highlights importance of Jewish Diaspora While most Diaspora communities look to Israel for direction, one local program is looking to strengthen Diaspora Jewry Dena Wimpfheimer, Jan 28, 2021 While most Diaspora communities look to Israel to celebrate the holiday of Tu B’shvat and the new flowering season, one program in Israel is …
I knew Hanukkah celebrated defeating the Greeks. Then I moved to Athens and the story got complicated. Oped by Rabbi Eliran Shabo | December 10, 2020 ATHENS, Greece (JTA) — When my wife and I arrived in this capital city on Sept. 1 to serve as rabbinical emissaries to the Jewish community, I have to …
Mexico City Jewish community embraces ceremony amidst coronavirus restrictions Amid coronavirus pandemic restrictions, Jewish community of Mexico City embraces unique ceremony during holiday season. Arutz 7 | September 29, 2020 As the Jewish world across the Diaspora commemorates a truly unprecedented high holiday season, many communities are searching for ways to ensure the period is …
High Holidays Especially Important to Diaspora Jewry This Year For many Diaspora Jews Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur play a defining role in their Jewish identity. This year, Covid-19 restrictions endanger this connecting thread. Testimonies from shlichim across the globe. By Rabbi Eliahu Birnbaum, Director of OTS’ Beren-Amiel and Straus-Amiel Emissary Programs | 13 September, …
Emissaries to Athens despite Covid-19 Rabbi Shebo and his wife Ayala among the first to begin serving in communities abroad during Covid-19, made possible by the meeting of the Israeli and Greek Foreign Ministers. How will the High Holidays be celebrated in the Greek capital? By Shimon Cohen | August 31, 2020 Although Israel has …
Amid COVID-19, OTS releases guide on how to safely observe High Holy Days The High Holy Days, which refer to the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, are some of the most important in the Jewish calendar, with the communal aspect being very important. By Aaron Reich | August 19, 2020 Ohr Torah Stone’s …
The High Holidays with Covid-19 The millions of worshippers expected at High Holiday prayers this year will be subject to Covid-19 restrictions. A halachic compilation was recently published to assist in dealing with them. By Zvika Klein | August 9, 2020 Covid-19 makes it highly likely that the upcoming High Holidays will be different to …
Instead of traveling abroad, I am traveling in the realms of the spirit The Corona era has forced me to take a break from my intensive journeys around the Jewish world, but it turns out that they can be continued from within the four walls of home. By Rabbi Eliahu Birnbaum, director of the Beren-Amiel …
Is Israel failing the Diaspora? The COVID-19 crisis demands a re-evaluation of what it means to be “one Jewish community.” Help and solidarity cannot—and must not—be a one-way street. Oped by Rabbi Dr. Kenneth Brander (May 10, 2020 / JNS) On Monday evening, May 4, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood before the television cameras and announced that …
